Guest Book

Headline: Devon Allman - son of Gregg - carries on the rockin' family tradition By Robert Morast Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) Devon Allman's a musicians living the son of Southern rock god Allman Brothers Band alum Gregg Allman. Just hearing or reading this bit of genealogy brings to mind images of Allman as a pampered celebrity's kid who used his pedigree to score a record deal for his band Honeytribe. Not so. Despite his famous family, Allman suffered through life like the rest of us civilians, serving time in fast food jobs while living in suburban St. Louis with his mother. He didn't meet his father until he was 15. And even after that, the Allman legacy didn't exactly afford him a stress free lifestyle. "I've had every crap job ... I was an insurance salesman. I worked at Burger King. They were all soul-sucking jobs," Allman says without the slightest hint of entitlement in his voice. "My crappiest job, I worked at a steel factory. That was just straight up hell." His stay in Hades didn't last long as Honeytribe eventually took off enough to tour the nation like the son of "Ramblin' Man" should. Friday, Honeytribe sets up camp in the Lava Lounge. And in case you still haven't figured out this guy shouldn't be cast as a clone of his father, don't expect an Allman Brothers-like set. "The common misconception was that I sat around learning every Allman Brothers song," Allman says. Rather, Allman says he grew up on rock radio - listening to the likes of Kiss, AC/DC and Aerosmith - and matured into a blues afficionado. That education makes sense as you listen to Honeytribe's "Torch" album. Full of the Crybaby guitar whine and passionate, but kind of flat, vocals Honeytribe plays like a cousin to the neo-electric blues rock doled out by Kenny Wayne Shepherd or early Jonny Lang. But switch tracks and you get a taste of the classic rock influences as Allman's guitar style shifts into a Santana mode punctuated by singing Latin accents. Switch tracks again and Allman's rhythm guitar attack becomes a thick, crunchy homage to Kiss - but with blues leadwork. The music is varied and not reminiscent of dad's oeuvre. But get to the concert, and you might witness the family resemblance as Allman stretches out 3-minute songs into rambling improv pieces. "When you come and see the band, you see this expansion," Allman says. "The (album) is just like a teaser." Kind of like his family history.